<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>GinTae One Shots by toxic_virgo08</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27264781">GinTae One Shots</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/toxic_virgo08/pseuds/toxic_virgo08'>toxic_virgo08</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gintama</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Benizakura Arc, F/M, Gen, Silver Soul Arc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:03:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,506</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27264781</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/toxic_virgo08/pseuds/toxic_virgo08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mostly drabbles and ficlets that can be read as standalone pieces :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sakata Gintoki/Shimura Tae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. An epiphany and an unspoken promise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p></p><div class="">
  <p>The strong smell of antiseptic mixed with the aromatic smell of natural herbs woke him up. That and the dull ache of his injuries from his fight with the Manslayer Nizou. He wondered sometimes how his body was able to handle all sorts of pain and injuries fighting led him to. He looked down his torso to see carefully wrapped bandages, smelled the minty balm she used to dull the pain. All singlehandedly the handiwork of that woman. An uncute woman. <em>Her.</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She was just there to take care of him while he was out of commission. But already, with her there it smelled like home. Never mind her black matter, her incessant nagging. As he wore his boots, strapped his bokuto, and reached for her umbrella she left on the entryway, he made sure to come home <s>to her</s>. Like he always does.</p>
  <p>
    
  </p>
  <p>(Credits to @qrianana for this wonderful gif. Check out the whole post <a href="https://theqrianana.tumblr.com/post/632016654081179648/gintae-week-2020-trope-after-action-patch-up">here</a>).</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Slip of the tongue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: It’s Tae’s birthday, and Gintoki goes to tell her ‘happy birthday,’ but accidentally blurts out ‘I love you.’</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy birthday to  SHIMURA TAE!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gintoki sat there pondering on the meaning of life while staring at the abomination of barely recognizable omelet, while Tae sat on the other side of the table eagerly waiting for him to take a spoonful of her gastronomic treat. He tentatively forked it and coal flakes crumbled as he pictured his life would be as soon as this thing touched his mouth.</p><p>How did he get in that situation, you ask? Well, it was Otae’s birthday. As usual, he, Shinpachi, and Kagura trooped to the Kodokan Dojo hoping to get free food because it was Otae’s birthday after all. If they get lucky, there might even be Dom Perignon after dinner for the adults to savor.</p><p>Tae was already by the door welcoming them when they got to the premises. The two kids ran to her hugging her and telling their <em>anego</em> and <em>aneue</em> their birthday greetings and that they wish her happiness.</p><p>He played it cool by strolling towards them at a lazy pace, his arm tucked inside his yukata, a bored look on his face. When he reached them, Shinpachi and Kagura excitedly went inside the house for a hotpot (courtesy of Kyubei) waiting for them.</p><p>They stood face to face, her smile never leaving her face. He was to go to her, say happy birthday, and join the others for a hearty delicious meal judging from the nice smell wafting through the house. At least that was his plan. Instead, he surprised himself when his mouth decided to talk on its own.</p><p>Instead of telling her his birthday wishes as per the plan, he looked at her straight in the eyes and accidentally blurted out, “I love you…”</p><p>A heartbeat passed. Light pink dusted her cheeks. He could feel his ears getting hot, he cleared his throat and belatedly added, “your cooking.”</p><p>He read confusion written on her face.</p><p>He rubbed his hand on his nape and clarified “Ehem, I love your cooking.”</p><p>“Oh that’s it,” she clapped her hands and laughed. “I thought you were falling for me.” Again, that smile. “Come on in Gin-san. I have something prepared for you,” Tae ushered him in the kitchen past the hotpot and the company of the kids, Kyubei and some other people from her work.</p><p>His fear materialized, Tae’s dark matter made its way to the dining table for him alone. He heard the laughter from the other side of the room where the edible food was, he had no choice but to suck it up. He did tell Tae he loves her. Uhm, her cooking.</p><p>He remembered Zura’s advice that to get out of sticky situations, Zura just creates an even bigger problem that cancels the first one out.</p><p>His problem right now is how to get the dark matter in his system without poisoning himself?</p><p>Why did he have to go and use her cooking as an excuse for his earlier <strike>confession</strike> slip of the tongue? Why did his mouth have to run off and blab on its own before his mind can stop it from doing so? And why did he have to heed Zura’s advice?</p><p>There were so many whys running on his mind right now but as he looked at Tae sitting across him enjoying her Baagen Dash, one question dominated the others. <em>Why is it that </em><em>when it’s a girl you’re really into, you can’t do it the usual way?</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. If the world was ending</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gintoki was so used to Tae taking care of him and other wounded people in the war. When he saw her with a cut on her forehead she was unaware of, he took it upon himself to take care of her even just this once.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Rest up Otae. You’ve been up all day taking care of the wounded,” he told her after she had removed the dressing of his wound. She placed her hand on his chest to keep him still while lying down on the futon.</p><p>In the background, they can still hear the occasional groans of pain from several patients housed in that building complex they were in. The makeshift infirmary the Devas of Kabuki set up was teeming with people in need of medical attention since the war started.</p><p>They had tucked Kagura and Shinpachi in the room next door. Hedoro was also helping out by continuously boiling water, pounding medicinal herbs, extracting morphine from opium poppy. He watched the kids go to sleep along with Tae and Gintoki before going back to the kitchen to resume his duties.</p><p>“I think we know who better needs to rest between both of us Gin-san. You’ve been on the frontlines since the war started and your previous wounds have opened up,” she chided him.</p><p>She removed the bandages on his arm, his torso. The cloth binds were stained with dried blood and sweat. He winced from the movement. She tried to look away from his face, he must be in a lot of pain. When the adrenaline from fighting completely wears off, he must feel like he’d been hit by a truck many times over.</p><p>When she had cleaned up his upper body, her fingers ghosted over the scars on his back and on his torso in places she had memorized from seeing them many times over. <em>‘Another scar, another story,’</em> she sighed. She got up and retrieved fresh bandages from the cabinet on the corner of the room.</p><p>He was staring at her intently. When she looked away, her face told him all the concerns she did not voice out.</p><p>He would have preferred it if she openly nagged him. Given him a piece of her mind over trivial matters, grilled him with the smallest detail she liked to nitpick. But she was silent when she returned, fresh bandages cradled on her arm. Even her usual smile wasn’t on either. He could not guess what she was thinking.</p><p>She kneeled beside him getting ready to change his cloth binds. He tried to sit up and touched her forehead. Any other day he would have been on the receiving end of her uppercut for being so forward and boldly touching her face with his dirty hands. But today, she just sat there immobilized with surprise.</p><p>He got one bandage from her hand and gently tied it on her forehead.</p><p>“You have a cut on your forehead,” he told her. “And I know you’re the one constantly patching me up but even I can do this much,” he said as he knotted the cloth in place, careful not to tie it too tight nor too loose.</p><p>“I’m not fragile Gin-san,” she told him. She sensed there was some gentleness that’s not usually there with the way he looked at her, the way he touched her bandage giving it a once over.</p><p>“I know. You have the strength of a gorilla based on experience,” he smirked. She was relieved he can still goof around. She indicated for him to lie down. She quickly dabbed antiseptic on his fresh wounds and changed his bandages.</p><p>He watched her work. He knew she was not fragile but he would like to take care of her even just this once.</p><p>She was nearly done when Hedoro knocked on the door and asked if he would like to take morphine for pain relief. He refused, probably later. He would like to hold on to this moment with her before his mind is altered by a drug. This moment that will soon be a memory.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>The prompt of the story was based on this picture:</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>
      
    </strong>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Aftertaste</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Between choosing who to give her first kiss to and giving Gintoki a second chance at life, she chose the latter. Her first kiss be damned. And for the record, this was not kissing. It’s called rescue breathing. To save Gin-san.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For my GinTae fam!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gin-san had a near-drowning accident. He was feeling hung-over for his binge drinking the night before but he still insisted to come to the beach along with Shinpachi, Kagura, Sadaharu, and Tae. Due to the sweltering heat, the Yorozuya decided to come to the beach to beat the heat.</p><p>They found a good spot on the shore. There were not a lot of people because of the fear of sharks when the movie Jaws came out. They started laying out their picnic mat, their food, and their umbrella to shield them from the sun. Gintoki decided to leave the chores to the others and made his way towards the inviting cold water of the sea.</p><p>When Shinpachi, Tae, and Kagura had arranged everything, all of them jumped towards the sea. They splashed about, played water games. When they got tired and hungry, the three made their way towards their picnic mat where Sadaharu was patiently waiting. Gintoki stayed on the water for a bit longer.</p><p>When the trio had eaten, Kagura walked along the shore looking for shells when she happened to glance towards the sea.</p><p>“Shinpachi! Anego! Gin-chan is drowning!” Kagura frantically called their attention when she saw Gin-san flailing about and then failing to resurface in the distance.</p><p>Shinpachi quickly swam towards the water and dragged an unconscious Gintoki to the shore. Tae was very worried. “Kagura-chan, call an ambulance,” she instructed the red-haired Yato.</p><p>Kagura took a lungful of air then belted out, “AMBULANCE!!!!”</p><p>Tae knew it was hopeless, so she turned to Shinpachi who was performing CPR on Gintoki.</p><p>“Shinpachi, let me do it. Go and find help,” she practically pushed her brother off Gintoki’s body. Kagura went with Shinpachi.</p><p>Tae started to do chest compression on Gintoki. She continued pumping on his chest but to no avail. Gintoki was still unresponsive. Help has yet to arrive.</p><p>After 30 compressions, she checked Gintoki’s pulse and breathing. Nothing. Fear started to grip Tae. If she didn’t do something and quick, Gintoki will die. She looked around, it was only them at the beach.</p><p>She repeated giving him chest compressions, sweat started to trickle on the side of her face with the amount of force she placed on each pump. She was relieved to feel a pulse on his carotid artery when she placed her index and middle fingers on his neck. It was faint but at least he had started responding. But the problem was he was still not breathing.</p><p>She did not have much choice. She remembered her training on first aid. She just had to breathe into Gintoki’s mouth. Between choosing who to give her first kiss to and giving Gintoki a second chance at life, she chose the latter. Her first kiss be damned. And for the record, this was not kissing. It’s called rescue breathing. To save Gin-san.</p><p>She quickly made up her mind. She leaned towards his face, placed one hand on his forehead, and the other lifted his chin. She pinched his nostrils, took a deep breath, and placed her mouth over his, giving valuable oxygen as she did so.</p><p>She checked for any signs of breathing but he was still unresponsive. She repeated giving him rescue breaths. She placed her head on his chest, then she felt relieved when she finally heard him breathing. He was still unconscious but he’s alive and out of danger.</p><p>Just as she let out a sigh of relief, Shinpachi and Kagura came running towards them with the demonic vice commander Hijikata Toshiro in tow.</p><p>Hijikata knelt beside Gintoki assessing him for any injuries.</p><p>When Gintoki opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the glare of the sun and the silhouette of a person bending over him. He squinted his eyes, tried to focus on the image of an initially blurry view, then his sight adjusted to the light, and the ugly mug of that bastard Hijikata came into focus. After blinking several times, still, the ugly face of Hijikata with a half-lit cigarette dangling from his nicotine-laden mouth filled his line of sight. He turned his face aside only to see the worried gazes of Shinapchi, Kagura, and Tae fall on him.</p><p>“Yo,” he lamely croaked out.</p><p>The next thing he knew was he was sent back to dreamland by the unrelenting force of Kagura’s punch on his face.</p><p>“You perm-head idiot! Making us all worry, yes. We should have just let you be the snack for sharks, yes” he heard her say.</p><p>When he has awoken fifteen minutes later, he saw Tae giving statements to the patrolling Shinsengumi officers.</p><p><em>‘Tsk, what a pain in the ass,’</em> he thought. He was just feeling rather sleepy on the beach when the waves pulled him down. After that, he had no recollection of what happened. When he came around, he was already at the beach with the others making such a great fuss. His throat was dry and his lips seemed parched. When he ran his tongue to wet his lips, he thought he tasted a little bit of strawberry flavor coating his lips.</p><p>His first thought was it was Hijikata who brought him back to life. But this lingering taste on his mouth seemed like a stark contrast to who he believed his savior was. Hijikata would probably taste like spoilt mayonnaise. Or if it was indeed Hijikata who gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation, he felt as if he smashed his mouth in a nicotine-laden ashtray. Now thinking about it made him feel like his mouth was a fucking sewer. He needed to drink water. His thoughts don’t connect.</p><p>The sun was still up in the sky when the Yorozuya family decided to pack up and call it a day. Everyone wanted to go home and forget about the near-drowning accident of Gintoki. Kagura was helping Tae to pack up their picnic items. Shinpachi and Gintoki loaded their things in the rented car. When they finished, Gintoki glanced at the women. Just then, he saw Tae apply something on her lips to prevent it from getting sunburnt. He saw her pocket it on her bag after.</p><p>On the ride back home, he thought he caught a glimpse of a pink lip balm on the pocket of Tae’s bag sitting beside him. Strawberry.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Some days later, Tae stopped by at the Yorozuya. Kagura and Shinpachi were out running errands and Gintoki was lounging on his chair as usual waiting for Ketsuno Ana’s breaking news program. Tae shook her head when she saw the sorry sight before her.</p><p>Litters of strawberry milk, parfait, candies, and some other strawberry-flavored sweet stuff were strewn all over the coffee table. Ants started to gather at the corner of the table.</p><p>“Gin-san, I know you have a sweet tooth but isn’t these a bit obsessive even for you?” Tae asked as she began picking up cartons of milk and cleaning up the place.</p><p>Gintoki placed both of his hands at the back of his head and slouched further on his chair. He gave her that blank stare to mask what he was actually feeling inside. The nerve of this woman to chastise him over strawberry when she was the reason why he started obsessing over the exact strawberry flavor that lingered on his mouth the day he nearly drowned. But even after stuffing his mouth with these far sweeter kinds of stuff, they just cannot compare to the aftertaste that lingered. His eyes kept on wandering on her mouth. He wanted to taste it again. And this woman with the sweetest lips had no idea.</p><p>Nope, he cannot give in to another temptation. Several days prior, broke as he was, he gave in to temptation and bought these sweets to satiate his interest in that certain flavor. But no matter how much he consumed, his tastebuds still longed for that flavor. He even bought the same lip balm she saw in Tae’s bag but even that did not nearly taste the same way.</p><p>She was moving closer to where he was seated. Just a bit more, she’s so damn near. He can practically smell her perfume. When she got around to his table gathering the litter on his desk, he hauled his ass out of the chair and gave her a quick peck. She was surprised, as he was on himself. He was a grown-ass man and he acted out on his urges. Damn, Tae must be thinking he’s a dirty pervert now. He might as well be given what he just did, but only when it comes to her. Shit! What was he thinking? And yes, he confirmed that on her lips it was <em>finally</em> the same sweet taste he had at the beach.</p><p>It felt like forever, but when he finally looked at her, her hands flew to her mouth.</p><p>
  
</p><p>When she recovered after a heartbeat, she grabbed his collar, “Gin-san, if you wanted to kiss me at least do it right.”</p><p>And right he did. He did it for her first proper kiss, her second, her third until they both lost count, savoring the sweetest strawberry taste he ever had.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This had been lounging on my folder for days, and I had to get it out cos I’m also writing another Gin character (Meitantei Conan) and it’s best to get this done so I won’t confuse them with each other :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. On cold mornings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gin and Tae just spooning in the morning.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He slowly opened his eyes.</p><p>He was awakened from the room suddenly freezing.</p><p>He made a mental note to fix the draft coming from the window of their room.</p><p>He tilted his head to look at the woman sleeping beside him.</p><p>Her back was facing him.</p><p>Her brown tresses spread on the pillow.</p><p>He shifted so that he was lying on his side close to her.</p><p>He felt her shiver a little from the abrupt absence of his warmth from where his body used to be.</p><p>She snuggled closer as he wrapped his arms around her stomach pulling her towards him.</p><p>He arranged the duvet so they were both fully covered.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She stirred a little when she felt Gintoki shift on their bed, only to pull her impossibly closer.</p><p>His torso rested against her back.</p><p>Lying close to each other, Tae felt Gintoki's heart steadily beating.</p><p>She sighed contentedly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He had to admit, he liked their way of staying warm and fuzzy especially on cold mornings.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is wholesome cuddling.<br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/>Let's be real, spooning can lead to something more so who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Ring</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Gintoki is trying to give Tae a ring 💍, but it's never gonna be that simple.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I cant sleep yet so I made this 😬<br/>Zura is such a good friend  and Sadaharu is a naughty boy 🥰</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>A</em> short story for Gintae<br/><em>B</em>ecause I love them.</p><p><br/><em>C</em>old as ice, his hands fumbled through the<br/><em>D</em>oor of the jewelry shop.<br/><em>E</em>ven though he was broke. <strike>And madly in love with a chick whom he brought back from hell.</strike></p><p><br/><em>F</em>unny that he'll be spending his money on a ring. Should've asked<br/><em>G</em>engai to concoct a solid ring for<br/><em>H</em>er. At least he planned to buy her an expensive ring. How thoughtful of him.<br/><em>I</em>t's the thought that counts.<br/><em>J</em>ust when he was second-guessing his decision when he saw the expensive price tag, he saw<br/><em>K</em>agura leading her giant dog on a walk outside the shop. If she ever<br/><em>L</em>ooked this way and saw him, she will know what he was up to. And he'll never hear the end of it.<br/>"<em>M</em>an, are u gonna buy that ring?" Another idiot in love asked eyeing the ring in his hand.<br/><em>N</em>ext thing he knew, he was paying for the ring. Finders keepers. He went home.</p><p><br/><em>O</em>pening and closing his palm around the box in his pocket, he was sweating buckets due to jittery nerves.<br/><em>P</em>roposing had never been up his alley.<br/><em>Q</em>uivering, his hands reached again inside his pocket. Many thoughts were<br/><em>R</em>unning on his mind. <em>Will she like it? Will she take him?</em> He wanted his proposal to be a<br/><em>S</em>ecret for the meantime. At least if he will be rejected by that uncute woman,<br/><em>T</em>he whole of Edo did not need to know.<br/><em>U</em>ntil then, he just had to hold onto the ring longer and rehearse what he had to say. He buried the box under his stash of sweets and quickly dashed to the comfort room. When he got back, Sadaharu was licking his face looking satisfied, food wrappers were strewn on the floor. Kagura and Shinpachi were nowhere in sight. And the box oh no, that very important box that held his fate was tossed away. All that remained was the box with no<br/><em>V</em>isible ring inside. He was nearly losing his mind when Zura stopped by, saving his sanity. A quick trip to the vet clinic confirmed his worst suspicions.<br/><em>W</em>hen they got the<br/><em>X-</em>ray back, sure enough the ring is in Sadaharu's gut.<br/>"<em>Y</em>ou know what you have to do," the vet told them.<br/><em>Z</em>ura coaxed the giant mutt to poop and when he did, they found the ring. They quickly washed the ring and prayed to the gods that all goes well.<br/><br/>And in the end, it was all worth it. She said yes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I tried abecedarian where the first letter of each line follows sequentially through the alphabet.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>